Sasria documentary reveals the real victims of the July 2021 unrest

A documentary by Sasria, Unveiling the Unrest: 7 Days of Destruction aims to reveal that there were no winners in the July 2021 unrest, and the biggest losers were the communities and looters.

This thought-provoking documentary which premiered on Tuesday in KwaMashu, Durban, examines the pivotal events of the July 2021 unrest, offering an immersive exploration into the turmoil that enveloped the country during the seven days of unrest.

The film features key insights from the insurance firm’s executives and industry leaders who found themselves at the epicentre of the chaos.

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“These eyewitness accounts expose an unseen narrative and shed light on the far-reaching aftermath that ensued. Beyond recounting the dramatic events, the documentary delves into potential alternative strategies that could have potentially lessened the magnitude of the disaster,” said Sasria executive manager in stakeholder relations, Muzi Dladla.

Dladla said it highlighted the extensive implications on businesses, the economy, and communities at large, presenting a profound understanding of the societal and economic consequences of the unrest.

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The CEO of Sasria Mpumi Tyikwe said as much as people are allowed to protest, there was no need to vandalise infrastructure, cause economic losses and risk losing lives.

Tyikwe said with the risk of social unrest ever-present in the country, the company was committed to use lessons learnt from the 2021 riots to ensure that it was a lot more responsive, should such an unplanned, destructive and unfortunate event happen again.

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The future-proofs we have in place are part of our vision, as we have been implementing a range of activities centred on our themes of resilience, relevance, restore, and rebuild. Having said that, we will always reiterate our call against the destruction of much-needed infrastructure Let’s protest, let’s make our voices heard, but let’s stop doing so through violence and vandalism, which sets all of us back.
A resident of Umlazi who was affected by the looting of the local mall said that before the unrest she was employed at the supermarket, and though she was not permanent she was able to feed her family.

She said after the destruction during the unrest, not all part-time employees were reinstated at the supermarket and she was one of them.

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I’m getting older and I’m afraid I will soon become unemployable. I wish the unrest did not take place because I would still have my job.